Just the FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What is SF/Media fandom?
Fandom is that group of people who are inspired to do more than just
read, view, or otherwise consume commercially produced material.
Fans write stories and songs, publish fanzines, make costumes, do artwork,
and interact with other fans.
Media fandom as we know it grew largely from Star Trek fandom
(see A Brief History of MW*C). Originally,
SF/Media meant Science Fiction primarily in the form of film and television,
but has come to be more broadly used to include other media with little
or no SF connection.
MediaWest*Con programming is intended primarily for people
already involved in SF/Media fandom, and those who wish to become more
deeply immersed.
2. What do you mean by "fan-run?"
There are two very different types of conventions: commercial
conventions and fan-run conventions. Commercial cons are run for
profit, generally have one or more big-name guests who appear in a lecture
format, and usually don't have many other tracks of programming; they are
usually more expensive, and may have stratified pricing, such as for "preferred
seating." Fan-run cons are put on by clubs or other groups of fans
as an expression of their interest, are usually not intended for (or likely
to make a) profit, generally have fewer or lesser-name guests, and programming
is more participatory, such as panels, discussion groups, art shows, etc..
2. Why do you limit Attending memberships to 900?
When we started, there were a couple conventions which had near-riots
due to overselling memberships (especially one-day memberships);
we had also been to conventions that were less enjoyable because they simply
felt overcrowded. MediaWest*Con is at heart a relax-a-con,
and we want to maintain a certain comfort level for our members;
900 seems to maintain that level at the current facility.
3. Why don't you sell one-day memberships?
See above.
4. Why do you have Apocryphal memberships and allow pets?
We found some people were buying full memberships for their stuffed
critters, so we started offering Apocryphal memberships for stuffed or
live critters and for alternate identities so as not to take up already
limited regular memberships.
As for pets, we had started bringing our dogs to the con so we didn't
have to board them, which cleared the way for others to bring their pets,
as long as they get along with the other animals and members (which goes
for the humans as well!). Some people miss their pets too much, and
some pets don't do well without their people.
5. Why don't you have any official guests?
As there are already plenty of conventions which do have guests, we
prefer to focus on other subjects of interest to fans, such as the various
aspects of fandom itself. While authors, actors, and others are welcome
to attend MediaWest*Con as fans (and some do), we do not pay for
their airfare, hotel, or other perks; instead, we can allocate our
limited resources in ways which more directly benefit our members, such
as keeping membership rates low.
6. Why Lansing?
Why not? Lansing is fairly centrally located, and is serviced
by major airlines. We (co-chairs Lori Chapek-Carleton and Gordon
Carleton) live here, which means we know the area, and it is far more convenient
for us than having to make frequent commutes elsewhere; you may only
have to make the trip once, but this goes on all year long for us!
7. Why the Holiday Inn South?
The Lansing Holiday Inn South/Conference Center is the largest self-contained
hotel and convention facility in the Greater Lansing Area, and is surrounded
by a variety of smaller hotels, restaurants, etc.. HIS is wheelchair
accessible (except for one small conference room which we don't use for
programming). The facility is big enough to provide considerable
function space, and small enough that we can take it over completely, thereby
avoiding conflicts with mundanes.
We moved to HIS after the previous host hotel violated its contractual
obligation to provide MW*C with all function space in 1991.
8. Why no smoking?
By Michigan state law, there is no smoking in any public building, except
in designated areas.
9. What's the deal with the HIS reservation request process?
A detailed history of the reservation request
process and the reasons behind it is available elsewhere on the MW*C
website. In short, the current process is intended to give everyone
an equal chance at getting a room in the host hotel, allows us to verify
memberships to make sure only members get rooms, and allows those travelling
a great distance to plan far enough ahead without disadvantaging others.
10. Why isn't the Dealers' Room open to non-members?
As we limit membership to maintain a certain comfort level, we do not
want to undermine that by attracting non-members. It would also cause
additional security problems, in the Dealers' Room and elsewhere.
11. Why the asterisk?
MediaWest*Con inherited the asterisk from the K*WestCons
in Kalamazoo MI, on which MW*C was, in part, modeled. As for
why they used it, you'll have to ask Paula Smith or Sharon Ferraro.
We have observed that other media cons have started using asterisks in
their names, so we assume the association is an acknowledgement of the
success of MediaWest*Con.
This official MediaWest*Con page was updated 10/1/97
Return to MW*C Hub Page